The news of AI voice cloning by Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey met with a mixture of weighing legacy, ownership rights, estates, and the risk of deepfake fraud using celebrities and even podcasters. Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Dave Ginsburg, Mark Fuccio, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea debate legal guardrails, fair use, and how cheap tools empower scams. Later, the discussion shifts to reports that London thieves prefer stealing iPhones over Android devices and how social engineering can defeat Apple's security measures.

This edition of MacVoices is supported by The MacVoices Slack. Available all Patrons of MacVoices. Sign up at Patreon.com/macvoices.

Show Notes:

Chapters:

[0:00] Sponsor mention and pivot to AI voice cloning
[0:33] Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey sign on for AI voice clones
[1:59] Creepiness factor and everyday abuse of cloned voices
[2:06] Spam callers, family impersonation, and scam risks
[3:27] Comparing licensed AI voices to authors licensing their style
[4:25] Ownership rights, estates, and posthumous revenue streams
[5:43] Al Roker deepfake ad and unauthorized commercial use
[8:32] Guardrails to protect voices from misuse
[10:47] Illegality vs. cheap, hard-to-police AI impersonation
[12:16] Public figures, fair use, and tougher likeness rules
[14:51] London phone thieves returning Androids, keeping iPhones
[16:00] Resale value, parts markets, and shipped-overseas phones
[18:15] Social engineering tactics to get users to remove iCloud locks
[18:28] Panel wrap-up, plugs, and where to find each participant
[28:00] Closing credits, support options, and contact info

Links:

Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey are getting AI voice clones with ElevenLabs
https://apnews.com/article/ai-voice-clones-michael-caine-matthew-mcconaughey-elevenlabs-a906f912c4500bfea35b53f4ad07e846

Al Roker Deepfake Scam
https://www.today.com/news/al-roker-deepfake-scam-rcna198136

Roblox is requiring 9yo kids to submit a video selfie for age verification
https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/roblox-is-requiring-9yo-kids-to-submit-a-video-selfie-for-age-verification/

WhatsApp security flaw exposed 3.5B phone numbers – including yours
https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/whatsapp-security-flaw-exposed-3-5b-phone-numbers-including-yours/

London thieves gave stolen phones back when they weren't iPhones
https://9to5mac.com/2025/11/18/london-thieves-gave-stolen-phones-back-when-they-werent-iphones/

Guests:

Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky.

Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast.

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud.

Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon.

Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet.

David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud.

Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC).

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.

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MacVoices #25303: Live! - Voices Cloning, Tesla Considers CarPlay

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